War Hexagons
by honkugly
Summary: The second installment in the lives of the Baudelaires, Widdershins, and Quagmires is being released to the public after the success of the romantic Love Hexagons. The teens must face the darker side of V.F.D. in this novella. Will they survive?
1. The Basement of 667 Dark Avenue

**Chapter I: The Basement of 667 Dark Avenue and What Happened There**

Dark Avenue was indeed dark. It had passed through many phases with the trees and what was "in" that never knew if it would be light or dark when walked down Dark Avenue. This of course, was idiotic. But then again, so were the residents of all the apartments that stood on Dark Avenue. It was misty the day this all occurred. Misty enough that you couldn't see the face of a person until they were a yard away from you. Yeah, that misty. Now this all added to the effect of what was to come.

There was a man walking down Dark Avenue that night. A man whom many thought was dead. The man strolled across the road and walked up to one of the crows sitting on the steps of 667 Dark Avenue. The crow was special. It had a small band around its leg with an eye on it. But this eye was no ordinary eye. It was the mark of a secret organization. The man tied a small piece of parchment around the crow's other leg. It would take off any minute now for the town of V.F.D. The bird flew off. The man walked away to return to his home, which was now being shared with a few orphans.

Now you must understand that the secret organization I spoke of earlier split in two parts. One part had been referred to as The Good Side and the other The Dark Side. And at this point, we are going to explore the Dark Side of V.F.D. And, ironically, we are exploring the Dark Side of V.F.D. right on Dark Avenue. This is merely where the Dark Side chose to meet. That is why I have told of this place. This is how the war begins.

A man walked down Dark Avenue. This man had no hair on his head but did have a beard. He walked into 667 Dark Avenue. The doorman escorted him to the elevator, which worked in proper condition and followed him down to the basement of 667 Dark Avenue. In the elevator, the doorman stripped of his disguise and was recognizable as a woman. This woman had hair, but no beard. The elevator stopped. Its doors opened, revealing an empty, lightless basement. This was where the dark Side of V.F.D. was holding its first meeting since the destruction of Hotel Denouement.

"Two years," said a voice of a man. (His image simply could not be identified because of the darkness of the basement, "that is how long we have waited. That's how long we have sucked up our hunger for fire and destruction, our love of money and power, and our hatred of specific people whose names I will simply not bring up for the reason that we all know who I'm talking about when I say 'Specific people.' Now I will address all these desires one by one before we begin our meeting and, hopefully, update on the progress of our dear organization.

'The first subject I shall discuss will be the hunger for fire and destruction. Really, we don't hunger for fire. We hunger for the destruction of people and places that stand in our way.

'The second subject I shall discuss will be our love of money and power. With money comes power and with power comes money. It's an endless circle. This is why we long for it. For becoming rich and powerful is what all dream to be. We take it to the next extreme. We actually do something about it." This drew some laughs from the crowd of an unknown number of people who were unseen.

"Finally, I'd like to say a few words on the final topic. Snicket. Baudelaire. Denouement. Quagmire. Widdershins. These families have stood in our way quite long enough. The Snicket family is almost extinct, if I am correct. The youngest sibling is still out there somewhere."

"Sir," said the voice of the man with a beard but no hair.

"Yes?"

"I believe you are incorrect about the number of Snickets alive."

"Yes?"

"There is another one."

"That is not possible. Unless, they are not associated with the organization."

"Sir, after our careful observations from maple tree in the Snicket residence, we have concluded that there is, in fact, a new descendant of the Snicket family."

"New? As in, new to V.F.D."

"No, new to the world. Beatrice Snicket, a two-year old female."

"This is not possible. Kit Snicket disappeared and Jacques and Lemony never had any children."

"Apparently, Kit had a baby."

"Obviously. But we all know what the real question here is."

"Actually, I don't sir. I don't know the real question."

"The question is: Who is the father?" This rose some muttering in the unseen crowd.

"Please continue with your observations," said the unknown man.

"Well," said the man with a beard but no hair, "I noticed that the orphans are staying in three houses. Theses houses are large and are supplied with guns, knives, and advanced security systems."

"Oh," chuckled the unseen man, "we should know all about advanced technology after that little incident at Prufrock Preparatory School."

"It will be hard to get in there legally," said the man with a beard but no hair, "But I have noticed that each kid loves another one of themselves."

"Ha!" laughed the woman who was disguised as a doorman earlier, "You actually thought we would be entertained with the love affairs of nerdy teenagers."

"No," said the unseen man, "I think he is giving us this information to use as a plan. A plan with bait."

"Ah," said the man with a beard but no hair, "this was the idea. But we need many people to capture them. We can't all be seen there together."

"We're going to have to send someone else," said the unseen man.

"Excuse me," said the woman.

"Yes?" questioned the unseen man.

"I just thought it might be possible for it to go unnoticed if we sent children," said the woman, "Children often have parties and stuff so it wouldn't look weird if they were together."

"Where do you propose we get these children?" asked the unseen man.

"Am I correct in stating that we still control the Snow Scout organization?" asked the woman.

"We do," said the unseen man. Obviously, no one could see this man. But I would place high bets that he was smiling. He was smiling because the time had come to destroy the last of his enemies. Theses enemies had tried to be stopped many times. But never before with children. And since all the enemies were clumped together it would be so easy to destroy them all. They had come so close so many times. They had almost sacrificed some of their lives. The man looked at the two people who had entered earlier in the basement by the elevator and remembered the incident at Hotel Denouement. It was time. There was no good and bad. There were just two sides. And now one of those sides would be demolished with _children_. Yes, the Sugar Bowl was just outside their grasps but after this there would be no looking for the Sugar Bowl. It would be right in front of their noses, with no one to stop them. Then the unseen man laughed.

_That was the great thing about being a bad guy_, thought the unseen man. _You get to laugh. And, oh, what a thrill it is. _


	2. A Broken Window and a Broken Heart

Author's Notes: This story is not just about the darker side of V

**Author's Notes: This story is not just about the darker side of V.F.D. though. We must reveal what was happening with the teens at this time…**

**Chapter II: A Broken Window and a Broken Heart**

"Of course," answered Fiona, "I remember that!" Fiona and Isadora giggled, quite an uncivilized girlish thing to do, but, then again, they were girls.

"And then Quigley fell over!" chuckled Isadora.

"Violet had grabbed his legs!" reminded Fiona. The girls were remembering the little episode that had occurred to all the teens a month ago, when they first learned that Lemony Snicket had captured them at last, and which love affairs were to continue. Since then, all but Fiona and Quigley's relationship continued. They found out, quite quickly, that the two were not meant to be. It was quite a depressing time. But all the teens understood.

But there were many questions left unanswered. Like, what was Lemony hiding in his files? Why did Quigley act so odd that day the couples were united? And, this was a question only Fiona kept in mind, whose locket was the one Fiona had found in Klaus' drawer? Fiona kept this to herself because she thought Klaus' hard may be divided between Isadora, who was of her acquaintance and another female who was not of her acquaintance.

But some questions had been answered. The reason Klaus could live again was because he wasn't really dead to begin with. He was faking a faint. This was a surprise to all and Klaus was told never to scare anyone like that again. But it was fantastic that he was alive and perfectly well.

But that story was over a month ago. It was time to move along. The girls were residing in Isadora's room. They were supposed to be studying, for they were taught by their peers. But, obviously, everyone knows that you should never put two teenage girls in a room and expect them to work. I would doubt that much would be accomplished. The females were having a conversation about the past, though I warn you, they should have been philosophizing on the future. But they could not know what was to be.

"Isadora, there is something I have been meaning to tell you," said Fiona.

"Fiona, you needn't be so _dramatic,_" Isadora commented. She then giggled at her silliness.

"Isadora," Fiona explained, "this is not a laughing matter. Remember when I tried to commit suicide?"

"Yes," Isadora replied gloomily, her expression suddenly altered.

"Well," recalled Fiona, "After that I ran into Klaus' room. Violet told me to look into Klaus' diary for the truth of his crush and love. I looked in the drawer for the diary."

"What did the diary say?" interrogated Isadora. Fiona was worried it would come to Isadora questioning this recollection. It hurt Fiona to tell her the truth.

"It said," Fiona recalled, "that Klaus loved me." Fiona waited and watched as Isadora took this information in.

"But it was an incorrect source obviously," said Fiona.

"Unless he doesn't love me," Isadora wondered aloud.

"On usual circumstances," Fiona said, "I would perfectly disagree with you on this. But I found something in the process." At this time, Fiona showed her the locket. It had the initials BW on it.

"How could he?" questioned Isadora angrily.

"Well, maybe there's another explanation to this," said Fiona calmly. At that time, a sound of shattered glass interrupted the girl's conversation. The girls ran downstairs. I'm terribly sorrowful to tell you what they found. It was quite a terrible vision. The girl's saw a rock, a small one, but apparently large enough to make a sixteen-year old boy unconscious. The girl's knew this because they Duncan Quagmire lying on the floor of the living room, unconscious.

**Author's Notes: I am terribly sorry this little episode in the story of the Baudelaires, Quagmires, and Widdershins has to be so small compared to other chapters, such as the one before this. But this is just how it must happen. The story will be updated soon again.**


	3. The Assumptions and the Guest

Author's Notes: I hope you thoroughly enjoy this chapter

**Author's Notes: I hope you thoroughly enjoy this chapter.**

**Chapter III: The Assumptions and the Guest**

Now this was extremely horrific. But since the incident with Klaus' 'death' the girls had to check to make sure he wasn't being a fraud. But of course, Duncan wasn't faking. This was absolutely terrible.

At this point in the story I think you have a right to know where the teens are. The Baudelaires, Quagmires, and Widdershins were residing in three mansions right next to each other that had been abandoned for quite some time. Lemony Snicket had brought them there only a year ago, disguised as an old man. He stripped out of his old man disguise only a month before the action of this story takes place. There must be many more questions that you have. If there are, you would be pleased to know that they can be answered in the prequel to this novella in novella titled Love Hexagons. But this novella will only impose questions that can be answered in another novella that is not written. Yet.

Now we shall return to the situation with Duncan Quagmire, his sister, and his friend.

"What kind of a person would do this?" questioned Isadora.

"I don't know," admitted Fiona, "But my father once spoke of an evil greater then Count Olaf." Isadora gasped.

"Of course!" exclaimed Isadora, "The woman with hair but no beard and the man with a beard but no hair!"

"That's a queer way to identify people," remarked Fiona, "So who are these hairy people?"

"We don't know their names," said Isadora, "But Quigley and the Baudelaires encountered them on Mount Fraught. The Baudelaires witnessed their evil doings again when they worked as concierges at Hotel Denouement. They are the employers of Count Olaf. They're his bosses."

"Hmm," said Fiona, "Why would they want to bother us?"

"They probably want our fortunes," assumed Isadora.

"But we have no way to prove that these assumptions are true," admitted Fiona.

The phrase "jumping to conclusions" has nothing at all to do with physical labor. The phrase simply means that you are assuming many things in order to answer a question and have no proof of these accusations. Jumping to conclusions, like jumping into a pool full of electric eels, or jumping onto a person highly skilled in the arts of Karate is not always a safe thing to do. It could lead to the arrest or harm of innocent people. You now know why jumping to conclusions was not a fantastic thing to do. Yet Fiona and Isadora were doing it anyway. They were quite close to the accurate answer too. But I will tell of that story another time. We must continue with our story now.

"What should we do?" questioned Isadora, "With Lemony gone anyone could attack us."

At this point I feel the need to pause the story once more to explain something. Lemony Snicket, the man who put the mansions into the possession of the Widdershins, Quagmires, and Baudelaires was currently absent from the mansions where this story just that it was important. They assumed Lemony had gone in search of the Sugar Bowl, the mysterious object that had been so close to the hands of noble and evil people. But none had captured it yet. I will tell you that Lemony, in fact, is not searching for the Sugar Bowl. Yet. You will know what his search was for quite soon.

"Oh," admitted Fiona, "This is absolutely horrible! Here, Isadora you take care of Duncan. I'll try to track down this rock-thrower!" At that, Fiona went outside to look for clues. Fiona hadn't found anything as a long black car pulled into the driveway. It was Lemony. But it wasn't Lemony alone who came out.

"Impressive home you got, eh?" said a voice unfamiliar to Fiona. The stranger exited the car. Fiona saw that the stranger was a male sailor (for he was wearing a sailor suit) and had lost a leg sometime (for he was wearing a peg leg). Then Lemony got out of the driver's seat and noticed Fiona outside. Fiona aborted her search for clues.

"Ah," said Lemony, "Come inside to greet our guest Fiona!"

"Mr. Snicket," explained Fiona, "There is a slight problem…"

"Tell me when we get inside, please," whispered Lemony, "I'm afraid they might be watching."

So Lemony, Fiona, and the mysterious sailor went into the home of the Quagmires. The situation inside wasn't so pretty. Duncan was sprawled out on the loveseat in the sitting room with Isadora kneeling beside him, placing ice onto his head where the bruise was located.

"Oh, what perfect timing!" joked Isadora, apparently not happy that a guest had arrived. While Lemony offered the guest a drink in the kitchen the girls talked in the sitting room.

"He's woken up," said Isadora, referring to Duncan.

"Hi," said Duncan, sounding exhausted.

"That's good;" said Fiona smiling, "But I haven't found any clues in the yard at all. And remember the locket; we have to find Klaus' other girlfriend. And this new guest…"

"I know," said Isadora shuddering, "There's something creepy going on and I don't like it."

"I don't blame you," said Lemony, entering the room, "This will all seem a little odd at first but I can explain a bit to you. But even I don't know the rest. Please gather the others and tell them of our guest. Tell them that the guest would be thrilled to meet them." Fiona and Isadora agreed and went off to find the Baudelaires, Quigley, and Fernald.

"Oh yes," said Lemony, "and tell them to be prepared fro what is to come. For they know not of the dangers that will occur soon." With that, Lemony Snicket smiled and closed the door on the girls, leaving only him, the mysterious guest, and Duncan in the house.

**Author's Notes: I'm terribly sorry about the lacking of speed when updating. I've been writing this off and on for a month now. The next chapter hopefully will come sooner.**


	4. The Gathering and the Disguise

Author's Notes: It's been months since I last updated this story

**Author's Notes: It's been months since I last updated this story. I feel it is time to continue what I began.**

**Chapter IV: The Gathering and the Disguise**

I'm sure you know the tale of the three little pigs. Despite numerous assumptions, investigations, and claims I have classified the story as fiction for the reason that I know someone who knew someone who heard someone say in a classified conversation that is was possible that the story of the three little pigs was not true. I also know that pigs are quite intelligent animals and wouldn't be stupid enough to build a house out of straw.

The way someone's house is built is one way you can identify how a person lives. For example, if someone's house has broken windows and is graphitized all over then you might assume that the person isn't living a happy lifestyle. But if you see a house with a bright yellow trim and windows that contain pictures and hold plants that joyfully singing:

_Bum-buddery, flip fluttery, dum-diddly oo_

_Chim-chattery chipmunks are singing along_

_Laughing and joining in a spring along song,_

_Bursting in bloom all the flowers assume it's a lovely, lovely spring_

or something similar then you can assume that person is living a happy lifestyle.

But there is another way you can identify the lifestyle of a person and it is how they greet you when they answer the door. This technique doesn't always work but it will eventually lead you to success.

If you take out the pigs, the wolf, and the materials used to build the houses and replace the, with teenagers, Fiona & Isadora, and the greetings they got at the door of each house you could visualize the situation.

--

"WHAT?!" verbalized Fernald.

"We're being completely honest," said Fiona. Isadora nodded.

"Whatever," said Fernald, "I guess I'll check it out."

Fiona, Fernald, and Isadora came to the second house, which was where Violet, Klaus, Sunny, and Beatrice lived. They immediately rang the doorbell. It took a while, but eventually Quigley, who was apparently visiting the Baudelaires, answered the door.

"Well, what a surprise!" said Quigley. "Come on in."

Sitting down in the sitting room with the rest of the residents of the house, Fiona said "Something odd and terrible has happened." Fiona told them about the rock that hit Duncan through the window. She told them about her search for clues and how it was suddenly interrupted by the stranger appearing at the door with Lemony. She told them about Duncan's recovery and how Lemony had suspiciously asked them to leave and find the others.

"Well, let's go fix up this mess," said Quigley. Then everyone left that home and went on to the home where it all started, where the stranger was inside with Duncan and Lemony.

Even Beatrice looked a bit frightened as Fiona pushed the final doorbell. The door creaked open slowly as if the door wanted to create some suspense.

"Boo!"

All the people waiting at the door jumped back. Succeeding this jump was laughter of success. Duncan was laughing.

"I'm sorry," he joked. "I simply couldn't resist." So they all waddled on inside. The sailor was in the sitting room, pouring tea.

"Hello, mates," said the sailor. "Sit on down. There's a good chap." The accent was quite odd. It sounded as if the sailor was trying to be British, Swedish, and the Crocodile Hunter all at the same time. This mix resulted in catastrophe.

"Sit on down and I'll get straight to the point!" exclaimed the stranger. They all sat down, glancing oddly at the stranger.

"I'll tell you my story," said the stranger. "I was born away from here. My grandmother told me of a music box she heard played. One day, I heard the music box playing here and I knew I found who I was looking for."

"Who were you looking for?" asked Quigley.

"What happened to your accent?" interrogated Duncan.

"Wait! Isn't that the plot of Tuck Everlasting?" questioned Klaus. The stranger smiled.

"You were right, Lemony," said the sailor. "I couldn't stump him."

"Whoa, whoa!" said Klaus. "You were trying to stump me! With Tuck Everlasting?"

At that time, Violet Baudelaire had enough of the joking and playing going on. She wanted the truth. Immediately. She rose from her rest position.

"Who are you and what do you want?" shouted Violet. The stranger rose as well and put his (assuming that it was indeed a 'he') hand on Violet's cheek.

"Feisty little girl, ain't ya?" Violet smacked the sailor's hand.

"Stop it!" yelled Violet. "What's going on?!"

At that time, Lemony Snicket walked in the sitting room of his former home.

"War is what's going on."

Violet stared hard at Lemony as if she thought he was joking. Klaus opened his eyes wide in surprise. Duncan, who had begun to take notes on the conversation, dropped his pencil. Isadora shivered as if she was very cold. Quigley dropped his jaw, then, to avoid looking disturbing, shut it quickly. Fernald sighed as if to say "Here we go again." Sunny fell off the couch and on to the floor with a brief "Ow!". Beatrice looked at everyone and got frightened and nervous. But Fiona spoke.

"I knew it."

All the surprised people in the room turned to be surprised again by Fiona's odd claim.

"Aye," said the sailor, "And while we're all surprised I guess I'll just take this off."

And with that, the sailor dropped his pants, (don't worry, the stranger was wearing something else), through of his shirt and cap. Under this the stranger was wearing a dress. She (and it was indeed a 'she') pulled out a clutch purse with a 'W' at the top. She opened it and began to apply make-up to her face.

"Wait!" said Quigley, "You're the Duchess of Winnipeg!"


	5. The Schism and the War

Chapter V:

**Chapter V: The Schism and the War**

The Duchess of Winnipeg smiled.

"You've heard of me?"

"Well, of course," said Duncan, "I was recently investigating your supposed death last month."

"Enough of this!" shouted Violet. "I want to know why you're here, why there's a war going on, how Fiona knew and whatever else anyone is keeping from me!"

"Miss Baudelaire," said Lemony, "Please, calm down. Let's all get some drinks and…"

"NO!" shouted Violet. "No more secrets! I want answers! Immediately!"

"Well then," said Lemony, not dropping his mysterious tone of voice, "I think we'll start with Miss Winnipeg. Miss Winnipeg, will you please explain to my young friends why you are here?"

"Lemony contacted me," the duchess explained, "after I had been in hiding a while. He told me that the time had come to rise again and fight the enemy. So I sent a crow back…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," interrupted Violet, "You communicated by crow?"

"Yes," said Lemony, "the Quagmires weren't the first to do that. V.F.D. has communicated by birds for an exceedingly lengthy time period. It was developed in the 14th century by a batiteer called…"

"That's enough information," said Violet.

"On with the story," said the Duchess of Winnipeg, "I was in retirement you see. I had given up hope after Beatrice, Bertrand, and all the other volunteers died in the fire. Later, I was given a coded invitation to a cocktail party at the Hotel Denouement. It was suppose to be hosted by some J.S. It sounded too risky to me. I warned Lemony not to go. He agreed with me. We tried to contact some other volunteers before the party but we were too late. The hotel burnt down. So many volunteers died that night. It was the end of the fight. I swear if I ever find out what arsonist destroyed that glorious hotel and all the volunteers in it I will torture them to death!"

At this point, Lemony realized that the duchess was becoming far more emotional then necessary. So he decided to finish the tale for her.

"So I wrote to her," Lemony said, "using a stray crow as a mailman, and I asked her if she would like to stay with me and my guests. She eventually agreed. It took a lot of persuasive action though, didn't it?" Lemony was looking at the duchess. But she wasn't looking at him.

The Duchess of Winnipeg knew she had found what she had been seeking for a long time. She spent half her life looking for it and here it was in front of her. She could take it and run. But no, she decided to wait until the time was right. All this time, the Duchess of Winnipeg was staring at Klaus.

"Ok," said Violet as she finally sat down, "now that we know what this is all about I want to know about the war."

Lemony stood up to explain what he had wanted to tell the Baudelaires, Quagmires, and Widdershins for a month.

"Many years ago," Lemony explained, "V.F.D. had a schism, where the organization split into two parts; the volunteers and the villains. Now when the villains' side originated its main goal was to gain money and power. But it soon became so powerful that it became known as a terrorist organization. It had become far greater than the volunteers. But over the next two years they made many mistakes. Many of the villains died or were arrested. Much of the money they had stolen was found by the government. And in two years the enormous terrorist group became the size of the volunteers. They were back where they had started. Back at the schism. Well, for the past month many arsonists have been gathering someplace. How do I know this? Many massive fires have been happening. The villains are about to strike the volunteers down. They think we are ignoring the signs. They want to surprise us. But they will not. We shall have assembled an army as well and finish what should have been finished those many, many years ago!"

Lemony had gotten far too emotional as well. It was Fiona's turn to tell her story.

"I'm afraid my tale isn't quite as elaborate," admitted Fiona, "but it is quite interesting. You see, I noticed that Lemony was quite nervous all the time. Then there was the night he left. I saw him leave. That was probably the night he tied the note to the stray crow to contact the duchess. I knew something was up. But then I saw Lemony examining weapons in his office one night. I had a hunch that he was preparing to fight someone or something. I thought there might be a war coming."

"But what about the government?" asked Klaus handing Beatrice, who had been napping in his arms, over to Violet, and standing up. "Won't it interfere? Surely you can't hide a war in codes and secrecy like you can everything else?"

"The government will realize over time that a war is beginning," answered Lemony. "They will try to stop us. Our only hope then is to side with the government and bring down the villains."

"Why don't we just do that in the first place?" asked Quigley.

"There are so many secrets that we cannot let the government discover," answered the Duchess of Winnipeg, "If we turn the villains in we would turn ourselves and all the V.F.D. secrets in."  
"Why must the war happen now?" asked Duncan.

"The enemy is growing stronger," explained Lemony. "Soon the villains will have more power and outnumber us again. This cannot happen. This is why the war must be now."

"Do you think the volunteers will win the war?" questioned Fernald.

"I think the war could go easily either way," said Lemony.

"Is there anyone else fighting besides you two?" asked Isadora.

"Yes," said Lemony. "You."

**Author's Notes: Please review this chapter. I am extremely looking forward to writing the next chapter in the lives of the Baudelaires soon. **


	6. The Dream and the Eavesdropper

**Chapter VI: The Dream and the Eavesdropper**

_Klaus sat in a chair at the end of an impossibly long hallway. The murderers loomed over him, smiling. 'They will pay for what they have done' thought Klaus. The murders were ready to begin again. Klaus prepared himself. He couldn't believe what they were doing. They had murdered everyone he knew and cared about in front of him. Klaus knew he would eventually die too by their evil wrath. But, at this point, he was looking forward too it. It would be nothing compared to all this. The pain would finally end. _

_A young lady was brought before him. At first, Klaus couldn't even recognize her, until he realized that this person was missing a distinct trademark that they were always associated with. It was Fiona, without her glasses. Klaus continued cry but became even more depressed as the murders did their work. Klaus closed his eyes. He heard a gun. Then everything was black. He realized that the murders had tricked him. Now that Klaus wouldn't watch them kill, they would kill him. Klaus knew he was dead…_

….until he woke up.

He was sweating. A lot. Klaus went to the restroom and flicked on the lights to get some water. There were no cups, though. So Klaus splashed his face, put on something that seemed alright (he couldn't tell, it was still dark in his room) and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

As Klaus took the seemingly endless stroll to the kitchen, he tried not to think of the dream. He thought about what he should drink, which seemed an extremely petty question at the time, but it took his mind away from everything else. As he decide on Sunny's freshly made pomegranate lemonade, he realized that he heard voices. He had been hearing them for a while now, he had just automatically blocked them out. They were coming from the kitchen. Klaus decided to stop before he came in, just in case he could pick up something important that he wasn't supposed to hear.

"…..and the time is now!" whispered the first voice loudly. Klaus thought this might be the Duchess of Winnipeg's voice, though he wasn't very familiar with it.

"Patience," said the second voice, " the time will come. It is in the near future." Klaus knew immediately that this voice was Lemony's. It had that strange monotone sounding with a bit of dread in it.

"You know I do not posses that quality," replied the duchess.

"But it is one you must learn," said Lemony.

"They want to fight now," whispered the duchess. "They displayed it by attacking that boy."

"That may or may not have been intentional," said Lemony, sounding much calmer than the duchess. "It also may have been an act of rational behavior."

"We must create a plan," said the duchess. "These kids are a valuable asset to V.F.D., all of them. This is why we must use them carefully."

"Use them!" gasped Lemony. "That is not what we want at all. They do things only be their will only and they have expressed that many times. These young adults are not weapons, but people. You must remember this. They are indeed valuable assets, which means that we should keep them protected, not have them fighting ruthless enemies. You know very well what could happen to them."

"You must understand me Lemony," retorted the Duchess. "I don't want to put anyone in danger. But we must fight or we all will die! Those people aren't the kind that just wants your money or power. They want blood and they will stop at nothing to get it!"

At this point, the duchess was speaking quite loudly and almost shouting, so Klaus backed away to spare himself from the angry conversation. He was about to return to his room when he decided to lean in to here just a bit more.

"Calm down," said Lemony. "The Baudelaires, Widdershins, and Quagmires will decide tomorrow if they want to be part of this war or not. We will inform them of all the aspects, both negative and positive and they each have a right to make their own decision."

"Very well," said the duchess, "this will work. But I don't want that specific one fighting. You know the one I speak of."

"Yes," said Lemony, "I know. But I don't think that one will even want to fight."

"Goodnight, then," said Lemony. The light in the kitchen disappeared.

Klaus dashed up to his room. As he undressed, and sunk into bed, he knew now that war was a nasty thing and he wanted no part in it. Even if he were to die if they did not fight, surely there was another way to end the conflict. He must stop this war before it started.


End file.
